Astro's Playroom Dev Team Asobi in the Spotlight in Studio Profile Video | Push Square
If you've been wondering what Team Asobi is up to, well, you'll still be wondering by the time this video is over — but it's worth a quick watch nonetheless. This studio, based in Tokyo, Japan, is the group responsible for two beloved titles: Astro Bot Rescue Mission and Astro's Playroom. Sony's shining the spotlight on this team in its latest video, letting us learn a little more about how they operate.
Overall, the messages seems to be that it's a fun, relaxed place that focuses on using new tech to create innovative games. «We started as a small team looking for really unique ideas in our video games,» studio director Nicolas Doucet says. «Be it PlayStation VR, or the DualSense on PS5 in really showing experiences that no one else was making out there.»
Gameplay programmer Takumi Yoshida adds: «Here at Team Asobi, we carefully balance new technologies with how those technologies can improve gameplay. And I think few teams in the world can do that.»
Fellow programmer Akira Ishii talks about Japan's infamous working culture, and how Team Asobi aims to buck the trend of crunch with a healthier work-life balance. Doucet talks about the team's vision needing to be harmonious: «We come together and we make something special. It is a craft. And if we want this to come out of our heart with the maximum potential, then everybody has to be onboard and really understand and believe in what we make.»
Again, there's nothing too meaningful to glean from this, but it's always nice to hear from PS Studios teams. This is the second studio spotlight video, with Nixxes being the first subject, so we'd expect more along these lines in future.
Having grown up alongside PlayStation, Stephen has developed an eclectic taste in video games
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